22 replies to this topic

[EWW]

Apple harvest is fast approaching and I have a friend with a 1870s press who is willing to let me use it if I find my own apples. I've read that roughly 8 lbs of apples will produce around a gallon of cider. So by my rough math I'll need around 2 bushels or 40-50 lbs of apples for 5-6 gallons of cider. Does that sound about right to you all?

[Mya]

Apple harvest is fast approaching and I have a friend with a 1870s press who is willing to let me use it if I find my own apples. I've read that roughly 8 lbs of apples will produce around a gallon of cider. So by my rough math I'll need around 2 bushels or 40-50 lbs of apples for 5-6 gallons of cider. Does that sound about right to you all?

depends on a lot of factors from what I gather, I rigged a homemade press and chopped up apples manually a few years back, and got only about 1/2 thatbest estimates I would plan on 14-16 lbs to a gallon traditionallya bushel yields about 3 gallons from what I gather, but a bushel weighs approximately 48 lbs though I dunno about the Westside, but there are feral apple trees quite common in my part of Washington, and orchard grown apples are also easily obtained, but are best after the hard killing frosts.I have 2 trees in my yard, but neither is a worthwhile source, as they are Red Delicious and Early Gold, both sweet mostly flavorless hybrids, and to top that off coddling moths are rampant in the Spokane Valley, without sprays it's guaranteed wormy

[EWW]

Yep, I plan to pick some ferral apples from joint base Lewis-McChord. Apparently they have a whole bunch of old growth trees and another friend will sponsor me to get on base. I guess I'll just pick a bunch and hope I have enough when the time comes. If I come up short I guess I can always throw some honey in and make a cyser.

[Mya]

Yep, I plan to pick some ferral apples from joint base Lewis-McChord. Apparently they have a whole bunch of old growth trees and another friend will sponsor me to get on base. I guess I'll just pick a bunch and hope I have enough when the time comes. If I come up short I guess I can always throw some honey in and make a cyser.

sounds like a plan

[Mya]

Are you saying you didn't create a pomace, but just press large chunks? Of course your efficiency would suck. You really need a fine grind, like that of those garbage disposal grinders or apple grinders

yeah I amI thought I was clear that my effort sucked :frank:I know a lot better NOWthis was in my first ever year of brewing 2002

[fatbloke]

You don't necessarily need to grind the apples, but you can get away with using a sturdy bucket and a length of 4x2 to crush them as. I did it that way last time I wanted "fresh" apple juice.....regardsfatbloke

[HarvInSTL]

like that of those garbage disposal grinders

I was quite happy with mine.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGSHZwwME-c

[zymot]

I was quite happy with mine.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGSHZwwME-c

I made myself one inspired by the video above. Works great.I made an apple press. After I made it, I found out that apples cut in to chunks are about as easy to press or crush as rocks.Hence the Harv inspired garbage disposal crusher.

[zymot]

I looked up some notes I had made. Once book on making cider said 75% efficiency was good.He defined 75% efficiency as, 100 Kg of apples @ 75 liters of cider.This converts to:220 lbs @ 19.81 gal55.7 lbs @ 5 gal11.3 lbs @ 1 gal100 lbs @ 8.98 galThere are some answers to be found in this thread.https://www.brews-bros.xyz/index.php/topic/4317-cider-makers-how-many-apples-do-i-need/It would appear that I got about 12 lbs per gallon last year.

[fatbloke]

Ha ha! that garbage disposal grinder certainly is an excellent idea....... you'd get a very fine pommace from that wouldn't you......Brilliant.Gonna look up the price of garbage disposal units.......regardsfatbloke

[EWW]

So we worked out a deal for the club to pick up jonathan gold apples for about $0.06 / pound from a very very friedndly processor in central Washington. We plan to pick up enough apples for about 180-220 gallons of juice for the club at this rate. We have a commercial grade ginder and 2 additional presses (3 total) donated for use for the weekend press event ... Pure win if you ask me.

[strangebrewer]

So we worked out a deal for the club to pick up jonathan gold apples for about $0.06 / pound from a very very friedndly processor in central Washington. We plan to pick up enough apples for about 180-220 gallons of juice for the club at this rate. We have a commercial grade ginder and 2 additional presses (3 total) donated for use for the weekend press event ... Pure win if you ask me.

All I can say is Then Then that's awesome. I don't know what I have that I could offer up in exchange but I'd love to get a bottle of whatever you make in the end. There is nothing quite like fresh pressed cider and I could only imagine the delicious beverage that could be made from it.

[EWW]

All I can say is Then Then that's awesome. I don't know what I have that I could offer up in exchange but I'd love to get a bottle of whatever you make in the end. There is nothing quite like fresh pressed cider and I could only imagine the delicious beverage that could be made from it.

Yeah, there's nothing you can say to this. The apples are coming double washed and sorted (these are the ones that are too big for box sales). The processer is a home cider maker and is letting these go at prossessing cost. He says they have a great sugar:acid blend for ciders. One of the club members has access to a flatbed trailer and goes to central wa once a month (bonus). The event is planned for the second Saturday in October. As prez I jumped in on 15 gallons+ (whatever the remainder of volume is). This will be a full day or 2 of work, but damn this is a homebrewers wet dream when it comes to cider. I'm totally pumped about this.

[EWW]

The official name for these is Jonagold as I was just informed.This is going to be a scary massive undertaking and I'll try to remember to post pics.My hope is that different members of the club will use different yeast strains so we can have a massive cider tasting and evaluation party. I'll probably try my hand at a French cider, a cyser, and a few straight ciders. I need to do some cider research so I bring up the club and my own knowledge on the subject. Please pass on any good links or books.Eta-This link has the best cider info I've found

Edited by EWW, 11 September 2010 - 09:08 AM.

[Mya]

holly moleyI know a guy who gets #2 apples at a processor down in that area but dude, that's an epic amount of juiceI'd like to try Pink Lady or Honeycrisp myself

[EWW]

I'd like to try Pink Lady or Honeycrisp myself

Although they are great eating apples I'm not sure about their sutibility for cider based on my readings

[zymot]

Although they are great eating apples I'm not sure about their sutibility for cider based on my readings

All the sources I have read make a distinction between table (or desert) apples and cider apples.Ones that are good for eating are not necessarily good for making cider.

[Mya]

All the sources I have read make a distinction between table (or desert) apples and cider apples.Ones that are good for eating are not necessarily good for making cider.

I have a wonderful soft cider made from straight fuji , but yeah it's different fermented out

[EWW]

Update:The jonagolds are good to go. The final price will be $.06 per pound, with each bin weighing about 850lb.  This puts each bin at about $51 each x4 bins = a hella lota cider to ferment

[strangebrewer]

Update:The jonagolds are good to go. The final price will be $.06 per pound, with each bin weighing about 850lb.  This puts each bin at about $51 each x4 bins = a hella lota cider to ferment

and